Kickstarter has exploded in popularity in the past year. It has become the go-to place for companies or individuals to showcase ideas for products and services they hope will become a reality. Backers are led to believe it only takes the right amount of money to turn an idea into an actual product, but it’s much more difficult than that. Kickstarter wants the public to know that Kickstarter is not a store where they can buy products that aren’t found anywhere else. To accomplish this, Kickstarter has created new guidelines for creators that are effective immediately.

Kickstarter wants creators to keep expectations to a reasonable level. They don’t want situations where a project gets tons of money, but isn’t delivered on time (or at all). Therefore, creators have to be clear about the risks they face in development and how they expect to overcome challenges associated with the creation of their project. It’ll then be up to the backer to determine if the creator can actually handle what they’re proposing.

The next requirement is a pretty big deal. Creators are no longer allowed to show renders of products. In other words, they’re not allowed to create an image that depicts what their product might look like. They can only post images of an actual prototype that actually exists. Creators also can’t show video footage of products that are beyond their current stage of development. The only video footage that’s allowed has to be of a working prototype.

Lastly, creators can’t promise to give you more than one of their products at a time. There are some exceptions, but if the product doesn’t need to come as a pair to work, creators can’t offer it as a reward.

I am all for these new requirements. Kickstarter doesn’t need to become a place where people can get free money based on an idea and nothing else. These rules will help weed out creators who aren’t completely invested in their product while giving backers more confidence in their donations.